


Winter Falls

by VoidofRoses



Series: Sunshine, Moonlight, Starlight [4]
Category: Mumintroll | Moomins Series - Tove Jansson
Genre: F/M, M/M, Moomin has two hands, Snorkmaiden has been around Little My too long, Snufkin is confused, por que no los dos?, pry this polyship from my cold dead hands, why does it have to be one or the other?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-28
Updated: 2019-04-28
Packaged: 2020-02-08 20:17:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,322
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18630538
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VoidofRoses/pseuds/VoidofRoses
Summary: The saying goes that curiosity killed the cat. Snufkin had to wonder how many lives that cat had had.





	Winter Falls

Signs of winter’s approach began appearing a week earlier than usual that year. Birds began gathering to fly south, reports of small flurries happening over the Lonely Mountains coming from travellers arriving in Moominvalley to trade before the snow and hibernation. Everyone had been preparing for the coming winter, and truthfully Snufkin should have been heading south long before now.

He didn’t know why he stayed.

He spent most of the last week helping Moomintroll and Snorkmaiden gather ingredients on Moominmamma’s list for the hibernation feast, able to get to places that the other two weren’t, due to their sizes. Sometimes Little My would join them, but it was mainly them as a trio that would set to seek it out. Snufkin would toss his line into any nearby stream while Moomintroll and Snorkmaiden foraged, and back at Moominhouse pappa was making preparations while mamma cooked.

Snufkin looked up from his line to see Moomintroll and Snorkmaiden close, talking in whispers as they compared mushrooms, and felt something tighten in his chest. He ignored it, reeling in his fourth fish of the day and setting it in his bucket. The fish were getting smaller, until almost only the minnow were left in the streams. Maybe they sensed the coming cold on their scales the way he felt it in his bones. Hearing Snorkmaiden gasp, he glanced over to the trolls again, tail swishing in curiosity behind him.

The saying goes that curiosity killed the cat. Snufkin had to wonder how many lives that cat had had, as he met Moomintroll’s gaze. Moomintroll looked...serious. Well, as serious as someone who looked like a fluffy marshmallow could look. He held one of Snorkmaiden’s paws in his, their mushrooms in one basket in her other paw, and she turned to follow his stare.

Snufkin buried the burning hot jealousy deep down and stood from his fishing spot, shouldering his pole and picking up his bucket of minnow. Clouds passed overhead, throwing the area into shadow, and causing him to miss the smile that crossed Snorkmaiden’s mouth as he languidly stretched and walked over.

“Thanks again for helping us with winter preparations, Snufkin,” she said, clutching the wicker basket of mushrooms in front of her. “There’s always so much to do.”

“It’s okay.” Was it really? He couldn’t help but ask himself. He could think of a couple of towns he could be at by now if he had left earlier on in the week. “I hope the fish is enough. The big ones just aren’t biting anymore.”

“I’m sure mamma will know how to stretch them out,” Moomintroll commented, his tail swaying behind him with the light breeze that came up. A shiver went up his spine, his tail straightening and the puff at the end flaring before it dropped to the ground behind him, swaying again. “It’s getting colder.”

“Mmm. Snork’s already making his plans to stay up again this winter,” Snorkmaiden said as they turned to begin walking back to Moominhouse. “I don’t know how he does it. It must be lonely.”

“Some people like the solitude,” Snufkin replied, paw curling around the end of his fishing pole. “With everybody hibernating, the world can get pretty quiet. It probably helps him think.”

“Maybe.” She hummed, looking at him thoughtfully, then glancing at Moomin like they shared a secret. “You woke up a few winters ago and couldn’t go back to sleep, right Moomin?”

“Yeah. Luckily I had Little My and Too-Ticky or I would have been bored out of my mind.” He sighed, then glanced at Snufkin and stammered out; “N-not that it wasn’t fun. It was just weird to see Moominvalley so still.”

Snufkin made a grunt of noise in response, missing Snorkmaiden elbowing Moomintroll in the side but turning his head when his friend made a sound. Snorkmaiden snorted, muttering a “Boys!” under her breath as Snufkin stopped walking, tilting his head. “Is there something I’ve done wrong?” he asked, raising an eyebrow until it disappeared under his hat.

“N-no!” Moomin stopped walking as well, releasing Snorkmaiden’s hand and linking his fingers, a small flush crossing his cheeks. “No, I’m...I’m sorry if it seems that way. I’ve just been...a bit distracted.”

“By what?”

“You got this, Romeo.”

Inhaling, the troll looked at him and rubbed his paws against his sides like they were suddenly sweaty as Snorkmaiden stepped away after giving him a kiss on the cheek. “By...by the way your eyes light up when you catch a fish,” he managed to get out, eyes closing in embarrassment and cheeks heating. “The way you speak when you tell a story, about the things you’ve seen. The way the birds in the valley seem to know your harmonica tune, like you taught them yourself.” With each confession, Moomintroll’s voice seemed to get steadier, his shoulders squaring. “The way spring seems to follow you back, and winter comes in your absence, the smoke rings that you can make with your pipe...” He sighed, reaching to run his paws through his fur. “I could...I could go on about the ways you’ve been distracting me ever since we met.”

“Please don’t,” Snorkmaiden snarked from the side, earning a dirty look.

Moomintroll looked at him, meeting Snufkin’s gaze and trying to see if he was getting any reaction. He noticed the mumrik‘s paw tightening around his bucket, the way his tail swayed. He swallowed. “Are you...mad?”

Snufkin’s brow furrowed at the question, pursing his lips together as he looked down at the forest floor in his own confusion. “Why are you telling me all this now when you’ve had all the last three seasons to?”

“Because I didn’t know how to put it into words until now,” he said, running his paw down his snout. “Ugh, I told you this was stupid, Snorkmaiden.”

“How do you feel about this?” Snufkin turned his head to the young lady, tilting it. “Your boyfriend just professed love for another. Well, maybe not in so many words.”

“Who do you think he practiced on?” she asked, spare paw going to her hip as she cocked an eyebrow. “Believe me, there were a lot more words. I told him to stick to the best ones.” Snorkmaiden came closer, wrapping her arm through Moomintroll’s and looking at him. “We had a long talk. I’m surprisingly okay with this.” She shrugged. “It’s not like _we’ll_ be boyfriend and girlfriend. You’ll just be Moomin’s boyfriend and I’ll be his girlfriend.” She looked at him. “If that’s what you want, Snufkin.”

“I believe you’ve been hanging around Little My too much,” he commented dryly, watching her roll her eyes at him in turn. Snufkin looked back at Moomin, who looked like he was going to go blue from the baited breath he was holding onto. Wordlessly, he dropped his bucket and propped his fishing rod next to it, hearing it fall over promptly as he stepped forward, reaching to cup Moomin’s face with both paws. He nudged their noses together, a troll equivalent of a kiss, and watched the way Moomin’s face heated up through half lidded eyes, hearing Snorkmaiden cheer quietly out of his line of vision, clapping her hands. “Does that answer your question?”

“Y-Yes it does,” Moomintroll answered, his tail wagging at the speed of light behind him. He let out a sigh of relief. “Oh I’m so glad.”

He chuckled. “Silly Moomintroll.”

“Get a room, you two!” Snorkmaiden giggled as Moomin threw his hand up at her, causing Snufkin to gasp and bat it down.

That winter, Moominhouse slept soundly. Pappa’s snores filled his and mamma’s room, while up in the attic, Moomintroll slept peacefully, Snorkmaiden curled up on his left side while Snufkin had his head tucked into his shoulder on his right, neglecting his journey south for the first time in what would be many times to come.

Why?

Because he was home.

**Author's Note:**

> and we have reached polyship territory! woo hoo! like always, thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed :)


End file.
